purple state

A term used for a swing state on an electoral map. It is purple because it could either go blue or red. They are sometimes shown as gray on a map instead of purple.

Purple states tend to vary from election to election. When the election actually happens, they will either swing blue or red (Democrat or Republican), but until that is decided, they remain purple.

Typically, states that would be shown as purple on an electoral map include Ohio, Florida, and Nevada. In many cases, states like North Carolina, Iowa, or Colorado could be considered purple, but would depend on the context of the race.